Outlaws and Renegades
by loubug14
Summary: One-shots, ficlets, and drabbles about the Mauraders or the Marauder-era.
1. To James and Lily

Title: To James and Lily  
Characters/Pairings: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, ?  
Forum/Challenge: The Golden Snitch's 'Prompt of the Day' challenge / HPFC Friends Competition  
Prompt: (action) making a toast / Write about any canon pairing getting married.  
World: Maurader-era  
Word Count: 589  
Other: 5 points (Mahoutokoro, House Mizu)

* * *

 _Clink clink clink._

"Ahem."

The conversations at the various tables stopped, and people looked up to the dais at the front of the room. A man in a Muggle suit rose and lifted his glass of champagne.

"It's probably not an exaggeration to say that meeting James Potter was one of the best days of my life. I was anxious about going to Hogwarts for… well, if you know my family then you know why. But then this loud boy on the train proclaimed we would be friends and, well, that was that.

"The next seven years were some of the best of my life. I'm not sure I can even put into words what it means to be a Marauder, but I know I speak for all three of us when I say that James is the very heart of our group.

"Of course, we knew from the beginning that James's heart lay elsewhere." The man grinned at Lily, who blushed good-naturedly. "I think James was proclaiming his never-ending love for his Lily-flower by October first year. I'm fairly sure that James's fervent pursuit of Lily is responsible for half of her grades: she had to learn the best hexes and jinxes to make him stop.

"But of course, he never did. And by Sixth Year the three of us were convinced their epic romance was a lost cause. We humored him, of course, but we were certain she would never return his affections.

"Then, miracle to end all miracles, James Potter, prankster extraordinaire and leader of the Marauders, was made Head Boy. To this day, we have no idea what Dumbledore was thinking."

A few audience members glanced at the old wizard, who simply twinkled back at them.

"But two incredible things happened that year. First, James Potter _matured._ " The man emphasized the word with a leer in his eye and a smirk on his face.

"Never!" James retorted with a smile.

"And second, Lily Evans agreed to a date with James. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"Now, I could stand here and tell stories on James until the champagne is gone, but I won't. If you want to hear those stories, come find me later.

"Instead, let me say this. Lily, I am so very lucky to count James Potter among my best friends. He is brave and loyal and loves with all his heart—he is everything that we Marauders hold dear. Well, that and with a good bit of fun. I am so grateful he finally landed his witch, and that she pulled her head out of her ass long enough to see him for the good man he is."

Lily tried to scowl but couldn't hide her smile.

"In these dark times, we must hold that which is precious to us close. Lily, you've gained a husband today but, for better or worse, you've also gained another three crazy, lovable men who would lay down their life for their friend—and his wife.

"I hope you bring each other profound happiness, that you always stay true, and that you love each other more every day than you did the day before.

"To love and loyalty—to James and Lily!" the man shouted, smiling broadly.

"To James and Lily!" the crowd returned.

The man smiled at his dear friends as he took his seat. Lily waved away the tears that had gathered in her eyes. James leaned over, grabbed the man by the forearm, and whispered, "Thanks, Pete."


	2. Let's Take a Walk

Title: Let's Take a Walk  
Characters/Pairings: Sirius/Remus  
Forum/Challenge: The Golden Snitch 'Light It Up Like the Fourth' Challenge / The Golden Snitch Birthday Club—Happy Birthday to TheRottenJas!  
Prompts: (task) picnic—write about a proposal / Pairing - Sirius/Remus  
Word Count: 500

* * *

"Hey Moony, let's take a walk." Sirius tossed his long hair in a practice move, one that made the girls in the common room giggle. He shot them a smile as they left. James and Peter were playing chess by the fire, and Remus and Lily were sat across from each other, studying.

Remus, however, had not paid Sirius's posturing a lick of attention. "Not now, Pads. My Runes NEWT is in a week and I still have six chapters to revise."

The tension in Remus was evident, as his shoulders were near up to his ears and his eyes more than a little teary from staring at his meticulously handwritten notes for so long. Sirius sauntered up behind him and kneaded the werewolf's shoulders gently.

"C'mon, you need a break. Just a quick walk to the lake and back. A half hour, at the most."

Remus shook his head. "I'm on a roll here with the major points of Anglo-Saxon translation. I'd like to finish it tonight, which means I'm in for the evening."

Sirius pouted. "Please Moony. It's our anniversary, and I've hardly got a kiss from you."

Lily, who was elbow-deep in her own revision across from Remus, giggled into her hand. Remus moved his chin up to peck Sirius on the cheek, never taking his eyes off his notes.

"Remus, seriously? You can't take a half hour break to spend with your boyfriend on your anniversary? Our _last_ anniversary at Hogwarts?"

Remus sighed. When he spoke, the aggravation was evident in his voice. "Sirius, this is really important to me. I _have_ to do well on NEWTs. I'm going to have to do twice as well as everyone else because of my"—he glanced around the common room, making sure only the Mauraders and Lily were present—"furry problem. Not all of us have our future locked up in a trust vault and can afford to goof off down at the…"

"Goddammit Moony, I want to propose to you!"

Sirirus's eyes widened as soon as the words escaped his mouth, and a blush rose on his high cheekbones. James's jaw dropped, while Lily's hand went to her mouth in shock.

Remus stilled, and then slowly turned to the dark haired wizard. "Really?"

The blush hadn't left Sirius's face, but he took on a look of exasperation. "Yes, really. It's you, Remus. It's always been you. Since our first night at Hogwarts, since our first moon together, since the first time I kissed you after the Quidditch Cup fourth year." He lowered his eyes. "James, Lily, and Pete are my family, but you… you're _mine_."

Sirius dug in his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band. Then he closed the distance between the two of them and dropped to his knees. "Marry me, Moony."

Remus waited a moment, then knelt in front of Sirius and took the animagus's chin in his hand.

"Mine," he said lowly, before he closing in for a heated kiss.


	3. Gone

Title: Gone  
Characters/Pairings: Sirius/Remus  
Forum/Challenge/Prompt: HPFC Friends Challenge / Write about Sirius Black.  
Forum/Challenge/Prompt: HPFC Soulmate!AU Competition / red string of fate  
World: Maurader Era / canon-compliant  
Warnings: M rating—moderately graphic sex scene  
Word Count: 1,877

* * *

 _September 1971_

When they met that day on the Hogwarts Express, they both knew what they were to each other. They'd grown up in wizarding homes, and they'd been told the stories of their parents' red strings. Like both sets of parents, their match was unexpected.

Orion and Walburga were cousins—first cousins—though the tendency to find one's soulmate within the family was inordinately common for the Blacks. When Walburga was born, the five year old Orion gasped and shouted "My string!" The two children were betrothed before Pollux and Irma brought their daughter home from St. Mungo's.

Finding one's soulmate among Muggles was slightly more common, though Lyall Lupin was still surprised to find his in the Muggle woman he rescued from a Boggart while studying magical creatures in Wales. It had taken some time for Hope to come around, but, as was the way with soulmates, she eventually did.

Sirius felt the pull of his string the moment he stepped on the Hogwarts Express. He explained everything to his new friend, James, who was feeling his own string pulled as well. They made a pact to find their soulmates and reconvene in a compartment near the front of the train, where they left their trunks. After all, soulmates didn't preclude finding a best friend.

Sirius followed the tug, the number of butterflies in his stomach increasing as the pull got stronger. Finally, his hand was jerked to the handle of a compartment near the back of the train. Sirius peered through the glass and saw a lone, blurry figure.

Remus had all but ignored the pull of his own red string. He knew his soulmate was on the train, and he simply couldn't face that. How would he ever explain? He was so scared of letting his other half down, of being a disappointment, that he simply hid away in a compartment and buried himself in a book.

But he felt his soulmate getting closer, felt the tug of their bond draw his mate to him, and Remus couldn't help but get a little excited. Would his soulmate grow to love him, the way his parents loved each other? Or would they learn the truth of him—that he was a monster—and reject him?

The door swung open and the two boys looked at each other.

Until that moment, things like attraction and sexual desire had been academic for both boys. They _knew_ about those things, but each had yet to experience those feelings. Just as the soulmate bond encouraged love, so too did it discourage other romantic entanglements.

But the moment Sirius and Remus laid eyes on each other, all of that changed. Remus thought Sirius was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen, with his long dark hair and high, aristocratic cheekbones. Sirius couldn't stop staring into Remus's grey-green eyes and decided that very color was his new favorite, from now until the end of eternity.

"Hi!" said Sirius brightly.

"Hi," said Remus, much more reserved. He smiled shyly, and Sirius decided his smile was even better than his eyes. It made his heart dance, to think he was responsible for it, and he resolved then and there to make Remus smile as much as possible.

"I'm Sirius Black," said the dark haired boy, sticking out his hand.

"Remus Lupin." He took the outstretched hand, the red string disappearing as their hands met, and a small spark shot through them. Both boys pleasantly shuddered at the jolt.

"So, what now?" asked Remus. "I mean, I take it you know what this means?" He gestured to their hands, still holding tight to each other.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah. You too?"

Remus nodded.

"Well then," Sirius said, sitting down next to the other boy. "I'd like to kiss you." Remus's eyes went wide, and Sirius's smile faltered. "I mean, if that's OK. You don't have to…"

"No, no, I want to, it's just…" But Remus never finished his sentence, for at 'OK' Sirius leaned right in and put his lips on his soulmate's.

The kiss was innocent, to be sure, but for both boys it was the most erotic thing they'd ever done. Sirius pulled back, wide eyed, and Remus blushed deeply.

Sirius grabbed Remus's hand. "C'mon, let's go to another carriage. I met a pretty neat bloke on the way in, and I told him I'd come back after I found you."

* * *

 _March 1976_

"Fuck, Moony."

Sirius arched his back into his lover, grinding into Remus's cock. Remus nipped at Sirius's neck and grazed his hands up and down the animagus's body. Sirius shuddered in response.

"Please Moony. Please."

A quick lubrication spell and Remus was slowly sliding into Sirius. He kept his thrusts gentle and shallow, so Sirius's body could get accustomed to him. They'd only been sleeping together a few months, and though each had fucked the other, Sirius had quickly decided he preferred to bottom. The wolf in Remus preened at his lover's submission.

"More, Moony."

Remus picked up his thrusts, pushing deeper into Sirius until he was fully sheathed.

"Melin, Sirius, you feel so fucking good."

Sirius raised his right arm up and pulled Remus's head close to his. Remus reached up and took the hand in his own, red string touching red string, the bond of soulmates thrumming between them. In the other hand, Remus firmly grasped Sirius's length and started stroking.

"Moony, I can't… fuck, I'm going to…" Sirius exploded into Remus's hand and over his own stomach. Remus tumbled over the edge after a few more thrusts.

The two men collapsed onto Sirius's bed, the curtains drawn and silencing charms put in place, though James and Pete were both out. It was almost unfair that they shared a room. Lily was tucked away in the girls' dorm, guarded from James by old gender-based charms; Peter had discovered his soulmate was a second year Hufflepuff and was trying to get to know her without being too weird, given he was a fifth year.

"Pads?"

"Yeah Moony?"

"I love you."

* * *

 _September 1981_

"I get that your mission is a secret, Moony. What I don't get is why you can't tell me!"

"Dumbledore said…"

"Dumbledore isn't your goddamn soulmate! Dumbledore is not your other half!" Sirius charged up to Remus, took his head in his hand, and kissed him hard. When they broke away from each other, Sirius was panting. "Dumbledore isn't going to marry the fuck out of you next summer."

Remus nuzzled into his lover, wrapping his hands around his waist and pulling him close.

"I can't give you specifics. I'm sorry. But I'm going to be infiltrating a group. Re-con work. I'll be back by Christmas. I promise get you a great present."

Three days later, Remus threw his rucksack over his shoulder and tenderly kissed his fiancé.

"I love you. I'll be back before you can even miss me."

Sirius frowned. "I miss you already."

* * *

 _June 1994_

 _"Ready Sirius?" said Lupin._

 _[…] "Together?"_

 _"I think so."_ [1]

And then Peter was there, sniveling traitor that he was, and he was bound, along with a _Stupefied_ Snape, and then they were walking to the castle, Sirius talking to Harry but glancing at Remus, who couldn't stop rubbing the red string on his wrist and smiling.

And then there was moonlight and then there was pain and then there was the smell of human flesh and the challenge of a dog. The dog smelled friendly and familiar, but Moony's wolf would accept no challenges.

Two days later, Sirius would stumble into to Remus's flat—the same flat they'd shared all those years ago—tired and dirty and still injured from their fight. Though the urge to shag him through the floor was strong, Remus ran a hot bath and made some soup and listened to his lover tell the story of his escape. And when exhaustion took Sirius, sprawled across Remus's bed just like when they were students, Remus stayed up the entire night tracing and re-memorizing the scars and tattoos that decorated his lover's body.

* * *

 _February 1995_

"The lake? In February?"

Sirius nodded grimly. "I get that the tasks are dangerous, but there's danger and there's idiocy! The lot of them should be locked up in the Janus Thickey ward."

Remus curled around Sirius's back and hugged him close. "He's OK, Pads. The cub is OK."

Sirius exhaled and nestled further into Remus's embrace. "It hurts, Moony. I'm supposed to be there for him. With James gone, he's my responsibility. And now he's in this godforsaken tournament and I can't even leave this fucking mausoleum to check on him."

Remus reached up and stroked Sirius's hair. "He'll be fine. He's—Merlin, Sirius, he's fought a Basilisk and Dementor and Petunia fucking Dursley. Nothing less than the reincarnation of Voldemort could stop this kid."

Sirius snorted. "Don't say shit like that Moony."

Remus chuckled. "I know how you feel about him Sirius." Remus rubbed his lover's wrist. "He's not just yours. He's _ours_. He's as much my son as yours, and I know you're scared and I know you're frustrated, but baby I can't lose you again. I _need_ you to stay here where it's safe."

* * *

 _December 1995_

 _"He's not your son," Sirius said quietly._

 _"He's as good as," said Mrs. Weasley fiercely. "Who else has he got?"_

 _"He's got me!"_

 _"Yes, said Mrs. Weasley, her lip curling. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked in Azkaban, hasn't it?"_ [2]

Sirius played the conversation over and over again in his head. Merlin, but Molly Weasley was a bitch—she brought a lot to the Order, mostly through sheer force of will and stewed meats, but he could not stand the woman.

The worst part, though, was that she was right. He _hadn't_ been able to look after his godson. He could barely look after him now, what with being an wanted criminal. If he could go back to that night in 1981, he'd ignore the righteous anger that had burned in him over James and Lily's death and, instead, focus on what had survived and what he had to live for.

His godson.

Remus.

He got up and opened the top draw of his dresser. There, in a box, were two simple platinum rings with a thin thread of rose gold circling the very middle. He held the box in his hand, and felt the tug of Remus, still downstairs trying to politely tell Molly to take her brood and go the fuck home.

He had screwed it all up fifteen years ago. Thus summer, he'd make it right. He'd marry Remus, he'd clear his name, and he'd make a right and proper family for Harry.

* * *

 _June 1996_

"Sirius! Sirius!"

On instinct, Remus grabbed Harry. It took all of his strength to hold the boy. His entire body felt cold, felt empty. His chest ached, as though someone had blasted a _Confrigo_ right through him.

 _"There's nothing you can do, Harry—"_ Remus said, choking on his own words.

 _"It's too late, Harry—"_

 _"There's nothing you can do… nothing… He's gone."_ [3]

Sirius is gone.

Remus looked down at his wrist, where a black string lay limp.

Gone.

* * *

[1] Passage from _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  
_ [2] Passage from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  
_ [3] Passage from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ _  
_


	4. A Better Year

Title: A Better Year  
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin

Forum/Challenge: HPFC Friends Competition  
Prompt: TOW The Soap Opera Party (9.19) - Write about someone who feels alone

Forum/Challenge: TGS Back to School Event  
Prompt: Getting your money: Write about a character using a Knut, Sickle or Galleon (10)  
Opt-Prompt: (object) butterbeer (5)  
Points: 15

World: Hogwarts  
Word Count: 844

* * *

The years had not been kind to Remus Lupin.

His was mother dead from a Muggle illness, and his father was holed up in his childhood home. Lyall Lupin had once loved his son tremendously, but over time that had grown to resentment and, finally, loathing. Remus had not seen him since his Hogwarts graduation.

His friends were gone—James, Lily, Peter, Marlene, Mary, the Prewetts all dead from a war that Remus had just barely survived.

Although he wasn't sure that he'd call what he was doing surviving.

Every day he trudged to the Muggle grocer, worked his shift, and trudged back to the flat he shared with two other men.

He slept in a closet. Cheaper rent.

On his days off, he would hang around Diagon Alley. He never bought anything—he never had the means to—but he would wile the day away in Flourish and Blotts, perusing the latest releases in Defense and Magical Theory.

Mr. Blott always turned a blind eye when Remus settled on the floor with a particularly interesting tome. The bookseller had known Remus a long time, ever since his schooldays at Hogwarts; he knew the lad had fallen on hard times and did what he could to offer a small reprieve from the wizards troubles.

Remus, for his part, was grateful for this small mercy.

And the years passed, marked by painful moons and uncelebrated holidays.

And then it was the summer of 1993, and Remus was once again on Diagon Alley, headed toward Flourish and Blotts. But before he could make it to the bookstore, he found himself staring at a newsstand, the morning edition of _The Daily Prophet_ proclaiming Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban.

He was older, he was dirtier, he was much, much crazier, but the man screaming out at passersby from the paper's front page was every inch Sirius Black.

Every inch the man Remus had fallen in love with.

Absently, he took a paper off the stand and started reading about his former lover's disappearance from the inescapable island prison.

"Oi!" The wizard tending the newsstand glared at Remus. "I ain't runnin' a charity here!"

Remus fished in his pocket and pulled out a few coins. A few Knuts, three Sickles. He sighed; he'd hoped to treat himself to lunch at the Leaky, but he'd have to make due with a butterbeer instead. He handed the man a Sickle and bypassed the bookstore for the pub.

He drank one butterbeer, and then another, as he learned that his best friend had vanished in the night. The prevailing theory was that Sirius had drowned in the North Sea, but given the lack of a body the Ministry of Magic was not taking any chances: they had ordered the Dementors to patrol the coast, looking for signs of the escaped wizard, and they recommended the British magical community be on the lookout for the fugitive.

Remus felt numb as he finished his second butterbeer. He dropped his last two Sickles on the bar for Tom and made his way to the nearest apparition point.

It was later that afternoon, Remus enjoying the rare peace of his flat as his roommates were both at work, when he heard a knock. He folded the paper—it wouldn't do for a Muggle to see the moving picture of Sirius screaming—and opened the door.

"Headmaster?"

"Mr. Lupin," said Albus Dumbledore in his grandfatherly tone. "You are a difficult man to find. I was hoping to take a moment of your time to discuss an opportunity with you this afternoon. May I come in?"

Remus stepped aside. He glanced down the hallway, wondering absently if Dumbledore had cast a notice-me-not on himself to avoid odd looks at his midcentury tweed suit. Seeing no one, he closed the door and offered the older man tea.

An hour later, Remus sat, stunned. A job? Teaching Defense? At _Hogwarts?_ It was almost too good to be true.

But it wasn't. And to top it all off, Harry would be there.

Harry.

Remus closed his eyes and thought back to Harry's first birthday. All the Marauders and Lily, sitting around the dining room table at the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow, laughing and giggling with the child. Sirius, eyes glowing with pride as little Harry reached out and cried, "Paa! Paa!" in what was, everyone agreed, the most adorable approximation of 'Padfoot' that ever existed.

Harry would be thirteen now. A teenager—only a few years away from being a man.

Remus had missed so much, he thought as he walked Albus to the front door, shook his hand, and promised to owl Professor McGonagall that week to discuss appropriate curriculum for each year. He had missed Harry's whole childhood. Would he have Lily's gift for potions? James's skill on a broom?

That he would be protecting Harry from Sirius—the boy's godfather, the love of Remus's life—was less exciting. But finally, _finally_ , he would be doing something important. Something good.

This year, perhaps, would be better.


End file.
